


Make Some Noise

by Spooberdem (orphan_account)



Series: The Kids from Yesterday [1]
Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), My Chemical Romance
Genre: M/M, btw mikey is done™ with frank and gerard's shit, i hope you like this but you probably won't, leave me be i have lots of ideas, oh god this is gonna be awful, this is another origin story yes i know it's been done a thousand times, this is my first actual serious killjoy fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-08-09 20:19:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16456556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Spooberdem
Summary: Before the Fabulous Four became heroes of the Zones, there were four boys named Gerard and Mikey Way, Frank Iero and Ray Toro. This is the story of how a group of teenage fugitives became the most infamous rebels in Battery City.





	1. Don't Look

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Yeah, I know Killjoy origins have been done a thousand times, but this is my idea for their past and I wanted to write it down. 
> 
> I haven't read Gerard's comic series that went along with album yet, so I'm just going off of the music videos, Wikia and my own imagination. Bear with me, please.
> 
> Any spelling/grammar mistakes are my own, sorry. I hope you enjoy!

'Hey! Fuck you!'

Frank and Mikey walked into the Ways' apartment to find a battle to end the universe in progress. Gerard and Ray were seated in front of the TV playing a super-old video game Mikey had fixed up, called MarioKart or some shit. The graphics were slow and looked terrible, and obviously according to BL/Ind's laws it was probably illegal to be in possession of it, but the game was a great time killer. And apparently, a great way to ruin friendships.

'Why'd you send a blue shell at me?!' Gerard was shouting at Ray.

'You were in first place! What was I supposed to do, let you win?' Ray retorted.

'Yes!'

 

Mikey shook his head and made a beeline for the punching bag hanging in the corner while the two raced. Gerard and Ray should've been out finding a job or whatever, seeing as they had graduated last year, the lucky little shits, but no, here they were, fighting over an illegal video game that had the potential to break down at any moment.

 'Boys, could you please keep it down?' A tired voice called from the bedroom. The whole apartment immediately went quiet. As frail and useless as Donna Way was, beaten down by years of BL/Ind's drugs, all the boys in the household still had a healthy amount of respect for Gerard and Mikey's mother. Her sons had tried to wean her off Ritalin like they had, refusing to take the pills and be brainwashed, hiding them in their rooms instead, but she hadn't been able to fight the drug and now she just lay in the bedroom, constantly high, detached from reality and unable to do anything. 

Frank's thoughts strayed to his own stash of ignored drugs, concealed underneath a loose floorboard in Mikey's room. The Dracs hadn't come around for an inspection in months, and hopefully it would stay that way. The amount of Ritalin that the boys had went far beyond the excuse of forgetting to take it. It would land them in prison or worse for disobeying the laws of Battery City.

Frank studied the two older boys as they hit the buttons on the controllers almost faster than he could see. Ray's massive head of hair bounced back and forth as he followed the action on the screen. Gerard's face, meanwhile, was scrunched in concentration, messy black hair falling into his eyes while he tried to inch back into first place. It was really cute, Frank thought.

He turned away from the couch and over to Mikey, who was determinedly hitting the punching bag. Mikey might look scrawny, but Gerard's little brother was surprisingly strong and fast for a nerd like him. His brown hair was flying as his fists hit the bag with enough force to nearly send it crashing into the wall. Frank knew that Mikey could probably beat anyone in the apartment in hand-to-hand by now, but he had no desire to test that theory.

Since everyone else seemed preoccupied, Frank decided to do something else instead of watching people creepily.

'Um, I'm gonna do homework now,' he said awkwardly. Mikey just nodded without pausing his workout, switching to kicks as Frank sighed and walked down the hallway.

When Mikey was focused on something, there was nothing you could do to get him to snap out of it. Not that he regretted it, but Frank still had no idea how he'd become friends with such a weird person.

Mikey had one blank expression for everything, and you could never tell if he was thinking about unicorns or plotting your murder while he had that face on. Other than that, he had two other visible emotions: happiness, which only Gerard could create in most cases, and anger. Frank knew firsthand that if you ever found yourself in front of an angry Mikey Way, you were _epically_ fucked.

Frank flopped down onto the bed in his, well, Mikey's room. Frank's mom was dead, and his dad was a drunk loser who had probably forgotten about his existence by now, so for basically the past year Frank had been living with the Ways. The same thing happened with Ray. Both his parents worked for BL/Ind and he never really saw or got to know them, so Ray just left his house after being neglected for years and now slept in Gerard's room. All in all, there were five people living in the Ways' apartment: The two brothers, Frank, Ray and Donna, who basically just left the boys alone to whatever.

The desk in Mikey's room was a mess, with papers and stuff everywhere. There was even a hair straightener lying on Frank math textbook. _Seriously? Mikey, what the fuck,_ Frank thought to himself. Not in the mood to clean up properly, Frank swept everything off the table unceremoniously. He had _told_ Mikey he was going to do homework, but why do that when you can do literally anything else? Frank dug out a seemingly random bag of stuff: straws, aluminum foil and ping pong balls, and got to work putting them together.

When Frank looked up again, It was dark outside. He hadn’t really accomplished anything productive, but he now had a small pile of smoke bombs sitting on the desk. Also illegal, but who cared? Frank had a weakness for things that exploded and/or caught on fire.

The living room fight still seemed to be going, which begged the question of how Gerard and Ray could possibly stare at a grainy screen for that long. The sound of fists hitting the punching bag had stopped, however, and a second later the door opened and Mikey barged in, falling facedown onto his bed.

'I'm gonna kill them if they don't shut up,' he said, voice muffled by a pillow as a cry of 'Ha, motherfucker!' sounded from down the hallway.

'I'll help you hide the bodies,' Frank replied lightly, even though there was a good chance that Mikey was completely serious about carrying out the threat.

‘Iero, have you been making bombs in my fucking room again?’ Mikey turned around and saw the foil wrapped objects sitting on the table.

‘Uh, no,’ Frank tried to come up with an excuse. ‘These ones don’t explode, they just have a lot of smoke.’

‘I swear to God, Frank,’ Mikey grumbled, flopping back down and staring at the ceiling. ‘I thought we said that you wouldn't keep explosives in the house after the toaster incident.’

‘Hey, we don’t talk about-’

He was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing, followed by a female voice saying, 'This is a routine Better Living Industries household inspection. Please respond or risk arrest.'

'Fuck!' Frank swore. He looked to the floorboard hiding the Ritalin, which was leaned up against the wall for access to the compartment. Slamming the board down into the floor, Frank stuffed the illegal smoke bombs into his pockets and rushed into the living room, where Mikey was helping his brother hide the game setup.

'Please allow us to enter your living space within ten seconds, or risk arrest.' The voice ordered them from outside. Gerard strode to the door and unlocked it slowly while Ray and Mikey stashed the last of the game cords. Frank did his best to adopt the dopey expression of someone taking BL/Ind's drugs every day.

'Hey, can I help you?' Gerard asked the BL/Ind agent casually, running his hand through his hair in a gesture that Frank thought was pretty hot. Not that he would say it out loud, of course. His crush on his best friend's brother was a secret he would take to the grave.

'Is this the Way residence?' the agent said, phrasing it as more of a statement than a question as she stepped inside. Two vampire headed Dracs stood guard outside the door as the agent began to walk around the apartment as if she owned the place. Aside from a grimace of disgust as she opened the fridge (the house was run by four teenage boys, what did you expect) her face remained expressionless as she poked through cupboards and opened drawers. Luckily, the four of them had gotten used to concealing things in a hurry, and the living room and kitchen passed the agent's inspection.

'Please show me to the bedrooms,' she said, her tone curt.

'This way, ma'am,' Mikey pointed to the hallway, while Frank made a face behind her back as her heels clicked down the floor. The master bedroom had nothing of interest, just Gerard and Mikey's mom sleeping. The agent nodded approvingly at the empty bottle of Ritalin on the nightstand, clearly showing the appearance of someone following BL/Ind's rules.

Frank held his breath as the agent stepped into the room him and Mikey shared. The loose floorboard didn't look out of place, and apart from the pile of junk Frank had swept from the desk onto the floor, nothing seemed particularly wrong with it. He breathed a huge sigh of relief as the agent exited the room without any comment.

Gerard and Ray's room was not as well kept as Frank and Mikey's. There was laundry everywhere, and random piles of Gerard's sketches were scattered over every available surface. Still, it didn't look like there was anything that would get them in trouble as Frank looked around the messy room-

And locked onto the pile of pills lying in the corner of the closet. _Fuck_. The two boys had been so preoccupied with hiding the game that they hadn't thought about their room. Frank desperately wanted to say something, but couldn't without drawing attention to the massive problem. He looked to Gerard, who had apparently just spotted the Ritalin stash lying in the open. Gerard whispered something to Ray, whose eyes widened in shock as the agent continued to poke around the bedroom. Frank prayed the utter chaos of the place would distract her from the pills.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. The agent had been trained to spot signs of people not taking the pills, and she quickly found the bag of uneaten Ritalin. Digging it out from the closet, she turned to the four boys.

'Whose room is this?' she demanded, holding up the bag. Ray stepped forward.

'Er, this is my room,' he said. 'Well, mine and Gerard's.' The agent's eyes narrowed at that, but said nothing.

'And who does _this_ belong to?' she asked, thrusting the bag into their faces.

'They're ours,' Ray said, face falling. Frank felt the dread seeping into the room.

'Do you have a valid excuse for not taking your daily dose of Ritalin?'

'None that you would accept,' Gerard bit, immediately shutting up after realizing what he said. Frank could visibly see Gerard's soul begin to crumble inside.

The agent glared at him, then spoke into a comm on her wrist.

'This is Hawkins,' she said without taking her eyes off the four of them. 'I have two, possibly more guilty delinquents. Please come in.' Frank heard loud thumps from the living room as the Draculoids entered the apartment from outside.

'Now, here's what's going to happen,' she told the boys. 'You will be taken into custody and tried for-'

'RUN!' Gerard screamed, grabbing Mikey's arm and pulling him along with him. Frank dashed out of the room and followed the brothers into the bathroom, where the window was still open. Mikey hopped onto the counter and dived through the window, landing on the fire escape. Thank God the Ways still lived in an apartment old enough to have one of those.

Gerard jumped out next, turning around to help Frank through the window. Not for the first time in his life, Frank cursed his short height while at the same time trying not to blush when Gerard grabbed his hand to pull him out. _Now is not the time_ , he screamed at himself mentally. Ray was tall enough to get out by himself, and within seconds the four of them were flying down the fire escape, pursued by the Draculoids that had come with Hawkins.

There was a BL/Ind car with more Draculoids waiting outside the apartment building, and they started running towards the four boys as soon as their feet touched solid ground. Frank booked it as fast as he could down the street, keeping up with the other three despite his short legs. Without looking back at their home, the four disappeared into the depths of Battery City.


	2. Keep Running

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After escaping the Ways' apartment, the four boys have to leave the city before they get cornered by Dracs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, this chapter is kinda short, but the good stuff is coming.

They stopped a couple blocks away from the apartment building to catch their breath. As soon as any of them could speak, the arguing started.

'What the FUCK, Gerard?'

'How is this my fault? You were the one who took out the stash last time!'

'Yeah, and someone could've remembered it while I was trying to put away the fucking game!'

 

Frank tried not to scream as Gerard and Ray yelled back and forth. Shouting was just going to draw attention to themselves, and right now they needed to get as far away from the apartment as possible. The fight came to an abrupt halt as a single gunshot rang out among the buildings, followed by a sickeningly familiar voice shrieking.

 

Mikey, who had been standing silently, snapped back to reality.

'Mom! Gerard, we have to go back for her!' he began to run back towards the building, but his older brother grabbed him to keep him going any further.

'Mikey, we can't go back!' he hissed. 'If they've shot her for not doing anything, what will the Dracs do to us?'

'But… Mom…' Mikey trailed off as silent tears made their appearance. Normally it took a lot to push Mikey to the point of crying, and Frank wondered what the kid was feeling. His own mom had died when he was pretty young, and the grief had worn off quickly since he never really spent time with her.

'Hey, it's gonna be okay,' Gerard walked up and wrapped his brother in a hug. 'I promise, we'll go back for her, but for now we need to keep going. We need to get to safety. Got it?' His voice had turned much gentler, and Frank knew from living with the Ways that Gerard didn't speak like that to anyone else. Mikey nodded and wiped a tear from his face.

 

'All right,' Gerard stepped back. 'Does anyone know where to go?' Before anyone could answer, the leering mask of a Drac popped out from the end of the street.

'I've got them!' Acting on instinct, the four of them sprang back into action and began running down the street away from the soldiers, with no thought of where they were going.

 

They didn't stop running for a long, long time. Frank could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, and somehow he took the lead, zigzagging through the streets toward the setting sun since the Ways' apartment was closest to the west wall. Going further into the city would mean more Dracs, and if they were farther out they might be more hesitant to follow the boys towards the desert.

 

Frank had no idea what they were actually going to do once they reached the border. He knew that with no supplies and no alliances with anyone outside the city, the four of them had no chance in hell of surviving in the desert. Frank decided to cross that bridge when they got to it. Right now, the goal was to actually get outside the city without getting shot.

 

Nobody was talking, and the group was silent apart from the four boys panting breaths and the pounding of feet on the ground. There was no light apart from the moon, casting menacing shadows over everything.

 

The nice neat sidewalks and residences slowly gave way to cluttered streets and rundown buildings as the city border got closer. The air felt different, too, fresher and somehow more alive than the dead atmosphere of downtown Bat City. It fueled Frank and spurred him on as they sprinted down the pavement.

 

Finally, they passed the very last structures. Before the four lay nothing but a barren landscape of sand and junk. Despite the 'not get shot' part of the plan, Frank stopped to stare at the world before them. He'd been to the city's edge before, but he'd never thought about going beyond it.

 

Gerard glanced at the rest of the group. 'Are we going out there, or hiding?' he asked them.

'I think we should stay,' Ray said. 'We know the city better than the desert. We can find places to hide.'

'Yeah, but we'll be on the run forever if we stay in Battery,' Mikey replied, surprising Frank. 'If we can get out, make alliances, we can survive.'

'Frank, what do you think?' Gerard asked him. He tried to get his thoughts together. The desert seemed so much more _free_ than the claustrophobic buildings. Frank was scared, yeah, but the possibility of an unrestrained life was so tempting.

'I think,' he said slowly. 'I think I'm with Mikey. There's a small chance we'll survive out there, but it's better than wasting it as fugitives in the city.'

'I don't know what to do,' Gerard told the group. 'I'm not sure that either option is good, but-' Suddenly laser shots fired over Frank's head, missing him by inches. In their debate, they'd forgotten to take cover.

 

The four ran back behind the nearest building, where rayguns wouldn't penetrate the solid brick.

'Now what do we do?' Ray shouted over the shooting noise. No one had an answer. They'd run into an alleyway, and there wasn't another exit. The Dracs crept around the corner and blocked their last chance of escape. Frank remembered the smoke bombs in his pockets, but he didn't have a lighter, and throwing ping pong balls wrapped in tinfoil at _Draculoids_ would be both stupid and humiliating. He closed his eyes, waiting for a gunshot or the feeling of handcuffs around his wrists.

 

What he _wasn't_ expecting was for a fucking _beautiful_ Trans Am to coming careening around the side of the building, taking out almost all the Draculoids. The car screeched to a halt, and a figure in a helmet jumped out the driver's side, shooting down more remaining Dracs with, what was that, a purple raygun? Between the nighttime light and the person’s clothing, Frank couldn’t tell their gender.

 

The person, whoever they were, shouted, 'Get in the car!' Frank stood there, too stupefied to react as the offer of rescue lay before him. He was watching in awe as the mysterious figure shot down Drac after Drac even though they were outnumbered at least eight to one.

 

The first of them to react was Mikey, bolting for the car and sliding into the backseat. Frank followed on his heels, not thinking about who the mysterious driver was. All he could think about was that he wasn’t going to die, and then _escape escape escape_. The other two ran after Frank, Gerard diving into the back along with him while Ray decided to sit up front.

 

'Do you know what you're doing?' Gerard asked, panting.

'Nope.'

 

A few seconds later, the anonymous person leapt into the driver's seat, getting in a few more shots before closing the door. Without saying a word, they spun the Trans Am around towards the wasteland, gunning for the open land and sky. Within minutes, the glowing lights of Battery City were far behind the car. They were free.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos, comments and all that stuff is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Edit: I just stayed up til like 2:00 am on a school night working on another chapter, so chapter three should be coming very soon ;)


	3. Aster Gal & Dr. Death-Defying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four meet some new allies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy early Halloween present, everyone! (Is that even a thing?)
> 
> Now we're starting to get around to the actual good part of the plot. Most of the beginning is just Frank crushing on Gerard tbh, but there are important character introductions, too.
> 
> Chapters should start getting longer from here on out. Enjoy!

The last time Frank was in a car was three years ago, before BL/Ind went and 'borrowed' every last vehicle in Battery City for their stupid Draculoids. It was exhilarating to feel the wind whipping through the Trans Am as it sped through the desert night, the engine making a beautiful purring noise. The downside: his black hair had grown out a little past his jaw, which meant that every few seconds Frank was spitting chunks of hair out of his mouth.

Still, the feeling of being free and in an actual car felt so amazing that he nearly forgot about the fact that they were now in an unknown land, being driven by a person who had neither spoken nor shown their face since they left the city.

Frank watched the desert speed by in the moonlight, passing the sign that said 'entering Zone 2'. He'd never thought he'd be out here, away from Battery City with his best friends (and one crush) with him.

That last fact made him more conscious of where he was sitting, squished between the two Ways. It was a tight fit, but the good news was that Frank was now pressed up against Gerard, who wasn't saying anything about Frank's close proximity to him and was making no move to slide further away.

Mikey was sitting on Frank's left, staring at the landscape with a more vacant expression than usual. He wanted to say something comforting to him, seeing as Mikey had potentially just lost his mother to BL/Ind's goons, but he sensed that his friend wanted to be left alone.

The person in the driver's seat was speeding like a maniac down the rough road, but they seemed to be someone who knew this land like the back of their hand. Now that there was basically nothing else to do, Frank took a moment to study them. The person was wearing a black leather jacket with jeans and combat boots. A yes, purple raygun was strapped into a thigh holster at their side, and their head was obscured by a black motorcycle helmet, the visor flipped down so no part of their face was visible.

The Trans Am was almost past the border into Zone 3 before Ray finally spoke up, the only one of the four feeling brave or curious enough to say anything.

'So who are you?' he ventured, directing the question at their still masked driver. 'Also, where are we going and how do we know you're not going to dump us somewhere and kill us?'

They let out something that sounded like a derisive snort, then, with one hand still on the wheel, unbuckled their helmet with the other and passed it to Ray.

The boys' savior was a woman of maybe thirty, with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes. Her angular face was weathered from living most of her life in the desert, so she was probably a few years younger than she looked. She was reasonably attractive, but in a harsh way, and she looked tough enough to kick your ass in five seconds.

'Believe me, Afro boy,' she said, 'If I wanted you dead you'd be a corpse lying next to the Dracs back there.' Ray made a face at her nickname for him but said nothing else.

'We're going to Dr. D's in Zone 6,' the woman continued. 'We can get you cleaned up with food and a bed there.' Curiosity getting the better of him, Frank leaned forward to ask another question.

'What's your name?'

She laughed, a melodical sound against the roar of the engine. 'I don't have a name, kid. At least, not one that I'd trust you with. If you're gonna be a Killjoy, you'll choose your own title. For now, you can call me Aster Gal.'

'Aster Gal. Huh,' Frank tried the name out on his tongue. It sounded dramatic and a little ridiculous, but at the same time it seemed to be perfectly fitting. 'Wait, you're a Killjoy?'

Frank had heard of the desert rebels before, but never imagined he'd meet one in real life. BL/Ind labelled the Killjoys as criminals and terrorists, but Frank saw them as some of the only people brave enough to openly attack the vile corporation. He sensed Mikey perk up and tune into the conversation now, the mention of the Killjoys snapping him back to the real world from wherever his mind was wandering.

'Fuck yeah,' Aster replied. 'Are you guys allies or enemies?' Her voice became louder and a little more menacing, as if she were daring anyone to betray her.

Gerard butted in at this point. 'Allies, definitely,' he assured her confidently. 'Um, we were being chased by Dracs 'cause we weren't taking the pills.'

Aster backed down, impressed. 'Good, clearly you guys are smart enough to keep the Ritalin away. Wait, you got any family?'

'Just my brother, Mikey,' Gerard said, nodding to him. 'and my mom. And Frank and Ray, who are basically my family anyway.' Frank tried not to overthink that last statement. So Gerard saw him as an extension of the Way family, but how? As a little brother like Mikey, or as someone else? _Shut up, Frank_ , he chided himself. _You're overthinking this_.

'Is your mom still in the city?' Aster asked Gerard.

'Yeah, but we heard a gunshot and a scream as we were running, so I don't know…' he trailed off.

'I'm sorry,' Aster said, her voice softening. 'But taking Ritalin is a serious crime to BL/Ind, and if they can't get you, they'll take whoever's closest.'

 

Mikey turned back to the window, and Frank could visibly see his best friend's body shaking. Mikey's hands were clenched so hard that his fists had turned white, and he was clearly not far from breaking down.

'Hey, man,' Frank tried to console him. 'It's gonna be okay.'

'Please,' Mikey said, voice shaking from sadness or possibly anger. 'Just leave me alone.'

Frank didn't say anything else to Mikey, scooting just a little closer to Gerard to give the kid some more space. Gerard said nothing, just looked at his brother with a worried look.

'Okay, guys,' Aster spoke into the now awkward silence. 'You'll probably want to get some sleep. It's a long drive to Zone 6.' She said nothing else after that, and now that the adrenaline of the night was fading, Frank was starting to feel more and more exhausted. He settled in as best he could into the Trans Am's seat, and drifted off to the sound of the wind and the engine.

 

*****

 

 

Frank snapped awake to the early morning sun streaming into his eyes. Everyone except Aster was still asleep, and _oh god_. Judging from the way he was pressed into Gerard's body, head on the older boy's shoulder, it was clear that Frank had fallen asleep on him. Gerard had leaned into Frank while he was sleeping as well, cheek pressed against the side of his head.

It was really comfortable, snuggled up against Gerard. He practically radiated heat, and the desert air was still cold from the night. Frank closed his eyes again and tried to slide a little closer to Gerard. Hey, as long as he wasn't protesting.

Aster caught Frank's eye in the rearview mirror as she continued driving.

'You two are a cute couple,' she said, speaking quietly so as not to wake up anyone else.

'Oh, uh. Um,' Frank stuttered, feeling an embarrassing blush creep across his cheeks. 'We're not, y'know, dating.'

Aster smirked. 'You should be. It's adorable.' Frank blinked. He'd had a crush on Gerard for a while, but never fully entertained the idea that they would actually date. Well, the thought had crossed his mind, along with quite a few other things that Frank _did not_ need to be thinking about right now, but realistically he didn't think that dating was in the realm of possibility. He knew Gerard was gay, same as Frank, but still, Gerard seemed way out of his league.

 

To be honest, Frank wasn't too sure why he actually liked Gerard. The boy never talked to him as much as he did to Ray or Mikey, but he was nice to him in general. Oh, and talented. Frank had seen some of the sketches Gerard was working on for a future comic book, and they were _really_ good.

Okay, yeah, and Frank was just attracted to him physically. His hair was really cute when it was messy, and his smile was adorable and his eyes were always sparkling with something that Frank couldn't identify. Never mind, Frank had a whole list of reasons why he apparently had such a huge crush on Mikey's brother it was like he was a giggling schoolgirl.

 

Speaking of Mikey, he'd apparently woken up and was now looking at Frank cuddled up against his brother with something between amusement and disgust.

'Dude, if you're gonna go make out, don't do it in front of me,' he told him.

'Hey! He's not even awa- oh fuck,' Frank's outburst had snapped Gerard out of his sleep, and he was now blinking tiredly at the scene. ‘What the hell?’ he mumbled to himself, seemingly having forgotten where he was for the moment.

Frank pushed himself away from the older boy, immediately regretting it while at the same time hoping Gerard wouldn’t react too negatively to Frank falling asleep on him. _It's no big deal. You have so much bigger problems than a simple crush right now. Such as being fugitives from BL/Ind,_ Frank told himself.

Aster caught his awkward movements in the mirror and shook her head slightly at him, still smirking.

'Hey, wake your friend up for me, will you?' she told Gerard. He leaned forward and tugged on Ray's hair, waking him up immediately and laughing when the tall boy hit his head on the ceiling.

'Ouch,' he groaned. 'Yeah, morning everyone. What's going on?'

'We're a few minutes out from Dr D's,' Aster told the four of them. 'I can get you food and supplies there, and you can figure out what you want to do.'

'Who's Dr. D?' Gerard asked.

'He's like the closest thing Killjoys have to an operations commander,' Aster explained. 'He's got a decent place with a lot of stuff, and there's spare rooms if you want to stay there.'

'Is there any point in going back for our mom?' Mikey asked. He sounded a little hopeful but mostly defeated, like he'd come to terms with the fact that he'd probably never see his other parent again.

'Sorry, buddy,' Aster told him. 'Breaking into the city is harder than breaking out. You'd need a car, and I'm not lending you this one. The Trans Am is my baby.' She patted the dash affectionately.

Mikey squished down into his seat, looking incredibly awkward from the length of his long legs.

'Okay,' he muttered, sounding more tired than anything else. But there was a new, determined set to his jaw that made Frank worried he'd do something stupid.

'I wonder if my parents know I left,' Ray mused aloud. 'Eh, probably not.' He didn't sound particularly affected by that fact. Frank knew that Ray hadn't seen his parents more than ten times in his life, being raised by nannies and eventually leaving the house. He'd overheard Ray telling Gerard once that the only thing that Ray still linked to his family was the name they gave him.

Gerard was staring out the window, completely in his own world. For a second Frank forgot that him and Mikey still shared a mom, and he was going through the same shit that Mikey was feeling. The difference was that Gerard had always had to grow up faster, keep his emotions more hidden so he could be there for his brother. Frank wanted to maybe put an arm around his shoulders or something, but that might be overstepping the boundaries of 'little brother's best friend who happens to have a crush on you but I'm never telling anyone about that except maybe Aster 'cause she's a little shit'.

Aster began to slow the car down as a small cluster of buildings grew larger in the distance. It seemed to simply be a collection of reused shipping containers centered around a structure that might’ve been a store once.

The car stopped at the edge of the small colony. Aster motioned for everyone to get out while a figure in roller blades approached them, wearing polka dotted leggings, a crop top and a motorcycle helmet like Aster's. She talked to the skating person in a hushed tone, then let them pass to look at the four teenagers. They made a series of hand gestures that looked like sign language, but Frank didn't know for sure.

'This is Show Pony,' Aster introduced them. 'They're Dr. D's assistant and they'll take you to see him. I have, um, something else to do.' She whispered something to Show Pony, who pointed to a building on the other side of the camp. Aster waved at the Frank, Gerard, Mikey and Ray, then strode away from the group. Show Pony motioned for the four to follow them, skating into the darkness of the store.

Inside the building, what would’ve been the main part of the store had been partitioned into several smaller rooms. A voice seemed to be coming from a room down the hall, but from this distance Frank couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Show Pony led them to a room on the other side of the building. Inside was a jumble of cords, speakers and old radio equipment. A man in a wheelchair was seated at a desk with his back to the five of them, apparently wrapping up some sort of broadcast.

‘This is Dr. Death-Defying, signing off,’ the man finished, spinning around to face them. He was wearing a vest and sunglasses, greasy black hair held back with a bandanna. Frank thought he was around his mid-40s, but he couldn’t be sure.

‘Hello there,’ the man, presumably Dr. D, greeted casually. ‘I’d stand up to shake hands, but I’m a bit short on working legs.’ He gestured to the wheelchair he was confined to. ‘Who are you?’

Show Pony made a long, complicated series of gestures to the man, who seemed to understand.

‘All right. Didn’t take the Ritalin, did ya? Good job.’ he addressed the four of them.

‘Our mom took the stuff, and she was too weak to do anything,’ Mikey said, stepping up to the front of the group beside Gerard. ‘My brother and I have basically been taking care of ourselves for the last four years.’ Mikey’s voice sounded a lot stronger now, although Frank could still hear a slight waver to it after mentioning his mom.

‘Aster found us at the city border,’ Gerard told Dr. D. ‘We were being chased by Dracs. We’re gonna become Killjoys.’ He told the man so confidently that Frank felt slightly angry that Gerard was speaking for all of them. The feeling disappeared almost immediately when he realized the boy was right. Now that Frank was out of the city, he wanted to fight back. In the city, with no supplies, that never would’ve happened. Refusing Ritalin was a large enough crime in itself, and that didn’t involve conflict of ay kind.

Dr. D burst out laughing, and Frank could see Gerard deflating inside.

‘You’re, what, sixteen? Seventeen?’ the man asked, still chortling.

‘Ray and I are eighteen, those two are seventeen.’ Gerard said, gesturing to Mikey and Frank.

‘The point is, you’re young. This is your first time out of the city.’

‘Exactly. We’re young with lots of strength, energy and a lot to prove,’ Frank corrected him. Gerard looked at him gratefully for defending his point.

‘You’re hotshots. You’re impulsive, and you’ll think you know everything when you ain’t seen nothing yet.’

Ray stepped forward. ‘Don’t underestimate us. We’ve been dodging the Dracs for years, and as for being impulsive, no one avoids getting caught without self-control.’

Despite their case pleading, Dr. Death-Defying still looked a bit skeptical. At least, until Aster Gal appeared in the doorway.

‘Hey, D. What’s up?’

‘Aster, these boys are saying they want to be _Killjoys_. You rescued them, so what do you think?’

The woman shrugged. ‘I’m pretty sure I saved them for a reason. We need more of us, so I say give them a chance.’

‘They’re _young_ ,’ Dr. D tried to reason with her.

‘You let Missile have a title.’

‘Missile is a special case.’

‘Well, we can’t just leave them in the desert!’ Aster cried in frustration. ‘I was younger when you brought me here.’

Dr. D’s face softened a bit at that. Apparently Aster was some sort of adopted daughter to him.

‘Just… please. Give these guys a chance to prove what they’re made of and see what happens.’ Aster pleaded. ‘If they don’t survive, the Dracs’ll finish them off so we don’t have to.’

D gave in. ‘Fine,’ he sighed, waving them away dismissively. ‘Get them new stuff and settle them in. You can move them to your place tomorrow.’

Aster nodded. ‘Alright, guys, follow me.’ She strolled off down the hall. Frank didn’t feel particularly confident at the last thing she said to Dr. D, but right now there was a better subject to focus on.

 

He was going to be a Killjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know, I messed with the ages. Gerard and Ray are the same age in real life, but Mikey is three years younger than Gerard and Frank is a year younger than Mikey. For the sake of the story, just roll with it, please.
> 
> As usual, kudos, comments, whatever. I'm excited for the next chapter, because hey, who doesn't like Gerard with red hair?


	4. Makeovers and other Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four are given the appearances of the familiar Killjoys we know and love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh ma gawd, you mean this fucking fic isn't dead??  
> 'Sup, guys, I'm back. I really have no excuse for being so late, I was really lazy and then school took over my life. But anyways, here's another chapter, longer than the previous ones and hopefully that pattern will continue.
> 
> Oh, how could I forget? HAPPY DANGER DAYS YEAR! Mercury Moon, at your service. This is our era, and hopefully... maybe MCR can get back together and give us some sort of celebration.

'Okay, first things first,' Aster said, pointing at Gerard and Mikey. 'You guys are gonna have to change your appearance up, big-time.'

'What? Why?'

'The Dracs came to your apartment, it'll be your name and your faces plastered all over Battery City.' Aster made a wide, sweeping gesture as she spoke. 'Anyways, you all need new clothes and shit regardless, so just follow me.' The woman stopped in front of a trapdoor set in the floor. It opened with an ominous _creak_ , a set of steps leading into darkness revealed. 'After you.'

 

The other teenagers exchanged nervous glances, but Frank stepped forward and began to walk down the steps. He'd never been afraid of the dark, and he was pretty sure that after defending them like that Aster wouldn't try to hurt them at this point.

 

The stairs went down for about ten feet before Frank hit the concrete floor. After shouting up, 'I'm fine!' the boys followed him down cautiously.

Aster was the last person to enter the underground space, flipping a set of switches near the stairs. A moment later, harsh, flickering lights snapped on, exposing their surroundings.

 

The room was at least the size of the entire building above if not larger, and every available space was crammed with boxes and racks, containing everything you could imagine: food, clothing, books, weapons. There didn't seem to be any particular order to the layout, objects stuffed wherever possible. Dynamite was stacked next to a crate of boots, vinyl records on top of Power Pup cans.

 

'This is our supply room,' Aster told them. 'We have practically everything here. Go look through stuff, try to pick out an outfit. There's rooms over there if you want to try stuff on.' Frank began wandering aimlessly through the maze of supplies. The amount of stuff here was overwhelming, and a lot of it was illegal by BL/Ind standards. Frank tried to stick to looking for clothes only, but it took all his willpower not to slip some grenades into his pockets when he found an entire pile of explosives.

 

Eventually, though, Frank managed to put together an outfit that would be deemed acceptable: jeans, a black and yellow shirt, boots and a black vest that had 'T%T' stitched onto the front. He had no idea what it meant, but it looked cool, so whatever. As soon as he got what he needed,Frank made a beeline for one of the changing rooms. He'd been wearing his old clothes for a pretty long time now, and they were starting to smell and become very uncomfortable.

 

Checking himself in the mirror once he was done, Frank didn't think he looked _too_ bad, although he probably needed to find a comb or something for his hair. Stepping back into the main supply room, he found Ray wearing a new black leather jacket, the old American flag sewed onto the back. Gerard and Mikey were there too, both holding armloads of clothes although it didn't look like they'd had time to try them on yet. Before the two brothers could step into the changerooms, Aster stopped them.

'Hmm,' she said, tapping a finger to her lips. 'You two need to dye your hair.' She addressed the two brothers.

'What?!' Mikey squawked. He ran his hand through his brown hair protectively.

'When I said you needed to change your appearance, I meant _you need to change your appearance.'_ Aster put a lot of emphasis on the last few words. 'You're a wanted man, and they'll be scouring the desert for you day and night, which means you need to hide and blend in.' Before Mikey or Gerard could protest once more, Aster grabbed the brothers by their arms and dragged them into another side room.

 

Ray looked at Frank and shrugged. 'I just hope she knows what she's doing.' Frank nodded.

'Mikey's ridiculous about his hair. It's gonna take a lot of effort to get him to change it.'

Gerard and Mikey were in that room for a pretty long time. Frank amused himself by digging through the huge bounty of supplies in the room, mostly the bombs and other explosives. He hoped he'd be allowed to use them someday, because _oh boy_ there was a lot of firepower in here. The amount of dynamite alone was enough to blow up the Ways' entire apartment building.

 

Finally, Aster called out, 'Okay, guys! Come and look!' When Frank walked out from between the shelves, he barely recognized the two people who walked out of that room.

The first change he noticed was Mikey. Frank wasn't saying he'd fuck his best friend, but _hot damn_ , apparently in the space of an hour Mikey had gone from an awkward teenager to sex on legs.

 

Before, Mikey had worn his hair perfectly straightened and nearly covering his face. Frank had never had the heart to tell him he looked ridiculous, but evidently Aster had done something about it. Mikey's hair was now bleached blond, the top slicked back and left long but shaved close on the sides to retain his natural brown hair color. The new cut accentuated his jawline, and Frank was pretty sure that that alone was sharp enough to cut someone's throat.

Frank's best friend was now wearing a yellow striped shirt, with a dark red jacket thrown on top. The jacket had black stripes going down the side, and the word 'Kobra' was stitched onto one sleeve. The new outfit had apparently boosted Mikey's confidence, as he now looked up and stood straighter instead of slouching towards the ground.

 

But as hot and amazing as Mikey's new glo-up had been, in Frank's eyes he had nothing on Gerard. Mikey's older brother was dressed in a blue Dead Pegasus motorcross jacket, paired with jeans so impossibly tight they should be illegal. His hair had now been dyed a bright shade of red, and the new color made him so attractive that Frank couldn't do anything but stare. Gerard saw his face and smirked, the little shit.

 

'Like what you see?' he teased, and _oh yes_ Frank did. He felt extremely self-aware of his own hair, greasy and unwashed, and he really wished the jeans he'd chosen for himself weren't quite so snug, because there was now a slight bulge in his pants he hoped wasn't too obvious.

 

Aster was grinning off to the side, a hand cocked on her hip. 'Well, I'd say that judging from Frank's reaction to the hottie over there' - she gestured to Gerard – 'I'd say I did a good job.' She looked Frank's own outfit up and down. 'Not bad. Could use a little more color, but if that's the scheme you're going for, it's fine.'

He laughed. 'Are you kidding? After what you just did for them?' Frank pointed to the two Ways. 'I want a makeover!'

Gerard snorted. 'Dude, you weren't ugly to begin with. There's not much for you to touch up on.' His comment made Frank's brain immediately short-circuit. _Wait, did Gerard fucking Way just say I looked good? Holy shit._

'Uh, yeah, okay,' he managed to stammer out, trying not to blush. He couldn't think of something else to stay, but luckily he was saved by Mikey.

'Hey Aster, what's this?' he asked, holding up some sort of device. It resembled an old videogame console, similar to the ones in Mikey's apartment, but this one had a screen embedded in the middle. A flat, rainbow colored attachment of some sort stuck out the top.

 

'Oh, that thing?' Aster glanced over. 'That's my old Vend-a-Hack. Used it to override systems in BL/Ind vending machines and get whatever we needed. Something in the circuitry got fucked a while back and I didn't get time to fix it.'

'Huh.' Mikey flipped the thing over, examining the back. 'Give me some tools and I can probably fix it.' She shrugged.

'There's enough shit in here for you to find what you need. You fix it, you can have it.'

'Sweet.' Mikey slipped the Vend-A-Hack into a pocket.

'Okay, you guys can have a few more minutes in here, get everything you need, and then I need to show you around upstairs. Make sure you pick up a raygun and some sort of mask, then meet me at the top of the stairs.' Frank raised his hand.

'Can I have some grenades?'

'No.'

_Dammit._

 

_*****_

 

The rayguns were piled at the back of the basement, spilling out of some large crates. They came in every color imaginable, but they all seemed to be neon shades only. Frank picked up bright green one and held it in a shooting stance. The thing was lighter than he thought it would be, but still hefty enough to know that it was made of pretty solid material.

Now, a mask. Frank needed something to define him as a Killjoy while on the battlefield, but he couldn't remember seeing something in the supplies earlier that he really liked. Aster was waiting for him, though, so he didn't really have a lot of time.

 

Frank ended up digging through a chest of what seemed like stuff for stage costumes. He had no idea what Killjoys would use it for, but then again, a lot of the shit in here didn't seem like it had a purpose in the desert. After a bit of searching, Frank managed to find something he liked: A rubber mask that covered his whole face, depicting a garish purple-skinned monster with bright green hair. He picked up a bandanna as well, figuring that wearing a shroud of unbreathable rubber in the desert all the time wasn't going to do him much good, and that he should probably get something else to wear as well.

 

Gerard sidled up to Frank and started plowing through the mess in the trunk, muttering something about 'finding the right thing'. He barely seemed to comprehend that Frank was there as he tossed several items of clothing and masks behind him. Frank just decided to step aside as he dodged a pink stiletto heel. Gerard got like that sometimes; once he had an idea, he couldn't be derailed from it, tuning out the world entirely. Life in the apartment had been quite hectic sometimes when Gerard swept like a whirlwind through the place on his search for one particular pencil, or one shade of paint. It was one of the few things Frank noticed both brothers shared: their inexplicable ease with which they ignored all of existence.

 

Gerard surfaced with what he was apparently looking for, a white masquerade-esque mask. It seemed a little blank for a Killjoy, but Frank wasn't about to question Gerard's thoughts.

Finally noticing Frank, Gerard held up the mask with what almost seemed like a child's delight.

'So I found these paints,' he told Frank, holding up another small box, 'and I'm gonna color this yellow, or something. I couldn't find anything else.' Gerard drifted off through the aisle of boxes, his mind already running on another plane of reality as ideas popped into his head. And as usual, Frank's brain started over-analyzing every single interaction he had with Gerard. The fact that he'd talked to Frank didn't matter, he was just an artist who wanted to express what he was thinking to whoever was closest. But then there was the nap in the car…

 

Once again, Frank shoved that blushing teenager part of himself into a mental box and pushed it off a cliff. Stupid emotions were not what he needed to deal with right now. Gathering his stuff, he clomped back up the creaky stairs to join Aster.

 

Ray and Mikey were already waiting, both of them also holding guns and masks. The two of them had apparently opted for motorcycle helmets like Aster's. Ray's was a jet black with yellow lightning bolts stenciled onto the top, while Mikey's was red and yellow, in keeping with his color scheme. White letters spelled out 'good luck' across the visor.

 

Gerard joined the four of them a few seconds later, and Aster led them back down the hallway and into another room, this one reasonably large with several beds shoved against the walls.

'You can dump your stuff here for now,' she said. 'You'll be sleeping here tonight, but I'm taking you to my base tomorrow.' Frank dropped his mask and gun on one of the cots, but he tied the bandanna around his neck. If they were going outside, he'd need it.

 

Once everyone had put away their belongings, the group walked further down the hall and out of the store. Aster strode across the sand until she stood in front of the other four at the entrance.

'So, this thing,' she gestured to the store, 'is our main base of operations. We're the largest Killjoy camp in the outer Zones, and the place where Dr. D makes his radio broadcasts. He hacks the airwaves every day to deliver news to Killjoys around the desert, but that's not important to you right now.'

 

'That over there is our bathroom facilities.' Aster indicated the second largest building in the camp. 'We have one inside the store, but most of them are in that thing. It's got toilets, a washing machine, plus showers with hot water. How Dr. D got that set up, I have no idea.' Frank already felt better at the mention of a nice hot shower available.

'The container over there is just another storage place, and most of the other shacks and whatnot are temporary homes for Killjoys when they stop by. Every Killjoy in the desert comes around at least once a year. We have food, running water and gasoline, so everyone has to come here at some point for supplies.'

 

'I would recommend that you don't come outside the store at night, as much as you can.' Aster said in a slightly firmer tone. 'Dracs don't often come out to Zone 6, but this place is pretty big for a Killjoy base, and we don't want to draw attention to satellites, or droids, or whatever. Be careful.'

 

'Aster?' A short figure walked over to them from one of the buildings. Frank turned to see a young girl, maybe between eight and ten, dressed in a red and blue jacket and a small helmet. She walked over to Aster, who took her hand as she spoke to her in a gentle tone.

'Hey, Missile, these are Gerard, Frank, Ray and Mikey. They're going to be staying with us for a while, okay?' The girl looked the four of them over and nodded, before turning to them.

'Hi everyone!' Her voice was friendly, but Frank could tell that, judging from her face, even at such a young age she'd already learned to keep her emotions and thoughts to herself. Still, it was nice to hear a child's optimism, and he fought to keep a smile from spreading on his face.

 

'Everyone, this is Missile Kid,' Aster told them. 'I rescued her a couple years back from Dracs. Don't know what they were planning to do to her, but it probably wasn't good.' Frank looked at the girl again. At first sight, she did look kinda cute and innocent, but there was just a hint of a cocky smirk on her face, and was that a knife sheathed in her boot? Geez, life in the desert toughened everyone.

 

Against his will, Frank's stomach grumbled loudly, having been complaining silently ever since he woke up. The noise was embarrassingly audible to everyone.

'Oh shit, when was the last time you guys ate?' Aster asked. He counted on his fingers.

'Uh, yesterday morning, I think.'

'Alright, you guys need some grub. You'll have to get used to being hungry around her sometimes, but you just came from the city so I'll give you a break. Follow me.' Turning back to the store, Frank followed Aster gratefully at the promise of food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was pretty fun to write. I stayed stuck on it for a couple months though, and once again, I'm sorry for that.
> 
> Next chapter will probably be in Gerard's POV. We need to hear from the other side of the Relationship™, and I want to talk about him and Mikey a little bit.


	5. Welcome to the mess that is Gerard Way's life, enjoy your stay!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into Gerard's head, and a conversation between the two brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, two updates in one day. I had a lot of thoughts to get out, so I just kept writing.
> 
> This is really more of a filler chapter where we get some insight on Gerard's thoughts. Also, Mikey talks some sense into Gerard.

It was five in the morning, and Gerard felt like shit.

 

The digital face on his watch was taunting him to sleep, but instead he had been spending the hours staring at the ceiling, milling things over in his head. The quiet snoring noises of the others filled the room. Gerard wished that slumber would come as easily to him.

 

He needed to draw. He needed the familiarity of a pencil scratching over paper, putting into shape the world in his mind. _Maybe there's some stuff in the basement,_ he thought. He didn't think the Killjoys would mind if he just took some paper, would they?

 

Careful not to disturb the others, Gerard crept out of bed and out of the room. The first rays of the dawn were just creeping over the horizon, and it cast a strange lonely look over the desert. The trapdoor that lead to the storage space was still propped open, and Gerard made his way down the stairs, each creaky step seemingly amplified as everyone else slumbered.

 

It took a bit of fumbling to find the light switch, but eventually he hit something and the fluorescent beams came to life. Wandering through the rows of random supplies, Gerard passed a mirror. Pausing to look at his reflection, he stared at his new appearance. When Aster had told him she wanted to dye his hair, he had been a little taken aback but more open to it than Mikey. Now, looking at his new cherry-red locks, it wasn't something he regretted exactly, but something else. Sure, it looked totally badass, or at least he hoped, but it now felt like he was playing a role that he didn't have enough skills to act in. Gerard looked like a Killjoy, and he wanted to be one, but now that he was faced with reality he wasn't sure if he could do it.

 

Yesterday was well, not acting, but more like a temporary boost of confidence, spurred on by his new awesome look. Speaking for the others in front of Dr. D, even though no one had technically been voted a leader of the four, flirting with Frank…

 

 _Oh god_ , _flirting with Frank._ Gerard wasn't sure where he'd gotten the balls to do that, but now that the initial adrenaline from being in the desert had worn off, he probably wasn't going to do that again. _Goodbye, Killjoy Gerard,_ he told himself glumly. _Hello, old Gerard who is a piece of trash and decided that barely talking to your secret crush is less trouble than interacting with him and failing to look like a competent person._

 

The Frank thing, as Gerard had dubbed it in his mind, was complicated. Probably less so if he bothered to actually sort all his shit out, but this was a topic that he didn't like to think about, and so he usually shoved it into the back of his brain and preferred instead to ignore it. Now that he had more time on his hands, though, with no one else waking up for a few more hours, he let himself have some time to actually think about his life.

 

First of all, he was in the Zones, a fugitive from Dracs, with his brother and his two friends. His mom was probably dead at this point, and he was training to become a Killjoy. One of those Killjoys had found them at the edge of Battery City and whisked them through the desert to this bizarre camp, presided over by a DJ in a wheelchair.

 

Gerard's thoughts went back to the car journey on the way here. It was fun to be in a vehicle again, the last time he'd been in a car having been ages ago. And then there was the nap… and Frank falling asleep on him…

 

Fuck, did Frank like him? His face had blushed tomato red when Gerard had told him there wasn't much for him to touch up on in terms of looks, but was he simply reacting to a compliment, or did Frank really like Gerard back? Was it weird that Gerard had a crush on him? He'd always thought that Mikey would be weirded out if Gerard made any move toward his best friend, hence why he'd never done anything over the last year or so. That, and Gerard was too socially awkward most of the time to speak up.

 

Ugh, emotions were a burden. A big, confusing mess that Gerard really didn't want to think about. Thankfully, at that moment he struck gold, or his approximation of it: A sketchbook and a small hoard of stationery, sitting abandoned on a shelf. Gerard picked up the book to examine it. Other then a fine coating of dust, it appeared to be untouched and unused. He dumped most of the art supplies into a leather bag to take with him, then settled down in an old chair with the sketchpad and a pencil.

 

At this point, Gerard let his mind take over. He tuned out the world until it was just him and his hand flying across the page, drawing instinctively. It was nice to have something he was used to, as out of place as he was in the desert. He didn't have to focus on anything but the graphite strokes the pencil was making on the paper.

 

Gerard didn't look up again until the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs jarred him from his mental state. Snapping back into reality, he stared back down at the page on his lap. The drawing depicted a short, raven-haired Killjoy, a smirk across his face as he aimed a raygun towards the viewer. There was no mistaking the person in the picture.

 

It was Frank.

 

Looking up at his surroundings, Gerard saw Mikey approaching. He quickly ripped out the drawing and shoved it into his back pocket. _That_ was something he'd have to sort out with his brain later. _When even your subconscious is telling you to get your shit together,_ he thought.

 

Trying to act casual, Gerard looked up at Mikey. 'Hey, what's up?' His brother sighed tiredly.

'Woke up and I couldn't get back to sleep. Saw that you were gone and figured you might be here.' Mikey nodded at the book in his lap. 'Drawing?'

'Yeah.' Gerard nodded to the bag beside him. 'I found a fuckton of art stuff in here. Aster said we were going somewhere else today, so I want to take this with me.'

'Huh,' Mikey poked at a few items on the shelf beside him. An awkward silence followed, both brothers not wanting to tackle the obvious subject between them.

 

'I'm sorry about Mom,' Gerard said. 'If I hadn't tried to run, she would still be alive.' His voice sounded stronger than he was feeling inside. Gerard had learned to process grief a while ago, and even though he still missed his mom, he had to be strong for Mikey.

'And we would be brainless BL/Ind puppets, pumped up with Ritalin,' Mikey replied. He was trying to sound indifferent, but Gerard could still make out the sad quiver to his tone. And beneath that, a streak of anger. 'At least out here, we can still think for ourselves. We already lost Dad, how bad will this be?' Mikey looked down at his boots, and Gerard saw a single tear run down the side of his brother's face.

 

'Hey,' Gerard pushed the book and pencil off his lap, standing up to give Mikey a hug. It was the first time the two brothers had had any time by themselves since escaping, and they could be really honest with each other.

'It's gonna be okay. We're in the desert now.'

'Yeah, I know,' Mikey stepped back. 'I'll get over it. Did it once already, remember?' He shoved a few stray strands of blond hair out of his face. Gerard could physically see Mikey forcing himself to become stronger, bolder.

'Okay, if you're good, I'm good.' Gerard bent down to gather his bag of art supplies. 'Come on, we should probably head back upstairs.'

 

'Oh, wait, not yet,' Mikey's voice had taken on a slightly playful tone. 'Are you really not gonna talk about it?'

'About what?' Gerard closed the sketchbook and shoved it into the leather satchel.

'About Frank falling asleep on you and then you _flirting with him_.' Gerard groaned as he slung the bag onto his shoulder.

'Mikey, we are not having this conversation. That was nothing.'

'C'mon, Gee, just admit it. You like him.' He sighed. Downside of having a sibling: they stopped at _nothing_ to know every detail of your love life. There was really no way out of this one, not when your brother was Mikey.

'Well, I mean… he's not bad looking…'

'You. Like. Frank. Just say it, I'm not gonna tell anyone.' Gerard gave up.

'Fine, so I do sorta like him. What about it?'

 

'What about it, Gerard?' Mikey kicked Gerard's boot. 'The fact is, you have been single since the tenth grade. Now, I don't know what Frank sees in you, other then that your drawings are cool, but he is head over heels for you. Pull your shit together and get yourself a boyfriend, I’m tired of watching you two dance around each other. It’s painful.’

‘Wait, what? Back the fuck up. Frank likes me?’

‘Jesus, Gerard, you are completely _blind_. He’s been crushing on you for over a year now, how have you not realized it?’

‘Well, I’ve wondered, but-’

‘Good. Then stop being a lonely loser and talk to him.’

‘Lonely loser? Mikey, you’ve never had a girlfriend or a boyfriend. You shouldn’t be talking.’

‘So what? I’ve already accepted that I’m gonna be single forever. You, on the other hand, actually have a chance with someone and you’re not taking it.’

‘Okay, okay,’ Gerard grumbled. ‘I’ll end up doing something. Eventually. Just shut up about it.’

‘Fine, but make it quick. If I have to witness you or Frank being awkward around each other again I _will_ shoot both of you.’

 

*****

When Gerard surfaced from the basement, Mikey behind him, Aster was walking down the hallway.

‘Oh hey, you guys are already up. You mind waking up the other two? We need to get going as soon as possible.’

 

Gerard walked over to Ray’s bed, shaking him gently. ‘C’mon Ray, get up.’ His best friend rolled over and covered his head with a pillow. ‘No, Gee, go away.’

‘Cupcake man, get the fuck up.’ Gerard snatched the pillow and hit him with it. Ray finally sat up with a sleepy groan.

‘Gerard, I swear to god. I smashed my hand into a cupcake _one time_ -’

‘Yeah, and I’m not letting you forget it.’

 

On the other side of the room, Mikey didn’t even bother trying to reason with Frank. He just grabbed him by the legs and pushed him onto the ground, blankets and all.

‘Ow, fucking hell, Mikey,’ the tangle of blankets complained from the floor. ‘You couldn’t have woken me up like a normal person?’ Mikey didn’t dignify his comment with a response. Frank sat up from the mess of sheets, and Gerard tried not to dwell on how cute Frank looked with his hair messed up.

 

‘I see you’re all awake now,’ Aster smirked from the doorway. ‘Eat and get anything else you need from the basement. We’re rolling in half an hour.’

 

*****

 

Gerard walked through the mess in the basement one last time, a can of Power Pup in his hand. The stuff didn’t taste too bad, for food originally intended for dogs. Aster told him that that was their main source of food in desert, so he’d have to get used to eating it.

 

He’d picked up a bandanna and a pair of sand goggles, after noticing that everyone else had grabbed some to deal with the desert sand. Both items joined the art supplies in the bag. After selecting a pair of gloves as well, Gerard was ready to go, until something bright blue in the corner caught his eye.

 

*****

 

‘Dude, is that a MouseKat?’ Ray shook his head in disbelief at the furry monstrosity Gerard hauled outside.’

‘Yep.’ He dropped the costume head into the trunk of the Trans Am. The MouseKat was one of the mascots of BL/Ind, used to advertise to kids. The head looked creepy as fuck, but Gerard decided that it would be good for shooting practice. Or for startling Dracs on the battlefield, whichever came first.

 

When Gerard slid into the backseat, Missile Kid was sitting in the middle, grinning at him. ‘Hi!’

‘Oh, uh, hi.’ Gerard had never really been good with small children. He’d never had a lot of opportunities to be around them in Battery City, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do with small humans. Other than Frank.

Aster poked her head into the car. ‘Oh, yeah, Missile’s coming with us,’ she informed Gerard. ‘Where I go, she goes. It’ll be a bit of squish, but this ride won’t be as long.’

 

One by one, the others dumped their stuff into the trunk and piled into the car. Yep, it was tight with Gerard, Mikey, Frank and the kid in the backseat, but the upside was that Gerard got to be closer to Frank. He tried not to look too happy about that, but judging by Mikey’s bitchface, he was failing miserably. Thankfully, Frank didn’t seem to notice.

 

Aster peered into the back. ‘Everyone ready to go?’ After a series of nods and ‘yeps’, she started the engine, and the Trans Am roared down the desert road, away from the the camp of Dr. Death-Defying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this, the POV will switch back to Frank, and it will remain so for most parts of this story, but I might switch in chapters with Gerard, or, once we meet someone by the name of Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III, with Mikey.
> 
> Update: So, it's not gonna just be the MCR people, guys. In this story and its sequel, I'm planning to bring in the rest of the Emo Quartet (Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, Twenty One Pilots)  
> Also, Aster is not based on any band member, she is an original character that I created for this story.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna try and update as often as I can, but with school and all idk how frequent that'll be.
> 
> Leave a comment, kudos, subscribe and all that fun stuff if you enjoyed it, please. That's all for now!


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